When a prayer becomes a point of principle

All former Catholic altar boys of a certain age (there were no altar girls at that time) will remember the word "oremus", let us pray. Other words in Latin will also have a certain resonance with "boys" of the same age. It marks them out as former servers at the Tridentine Mass, now largely consigned to the liturgical dustbin, with the possible exception of the death of a pope. We're in deep history here, a time when the "faithful", as churchgoers were called, heard the liturgical chant in church without ever knowing exactly what the words might mean. And it might be better for your health if you didn't know because there was a lot of hell and damnation flying about in those years. The fact that the words were in Latin also had a soporific effect so the listener had the feeling that he or she was floating along on a magic carpet of words. Saying a prayer before council meetings has been a tradition in Meath County Council for many years. It is normally led off by the meetings administrator (a council official) and the words, as Gaeilge, are a call to God to bring down his blessings and guidance on the proceedings. God must sometimes look down askance at what is going on in County Hall, especially when the political rocket fire is directed across the chamber. He might well wonder why he is being asked to bestow his blessings on this shambles. Unfair? Well, yes, because most of the time, the imprecations directed upwards seem to have the desired effect when there is solid and sensible debate and a lot of work done. Take this week's monthly meeting of the council, for instance. All seemed to go rather smoothly. The members sailed through the motions and questions without a hiccup. You might think the Almighty had done his work well. In fact, all this was done without His help. Councillors were taken by surprise when the meeting started up without the customary prayer. This was the first meeting of the council conducted by the new cathaoirleach, Eoin Holmes, and he had decided that proceedings would open as per the agenda. His decision has been questioned by some of the councillors who felt that a long-held tradition has been jettisoned without a whimper of protest and they aren't taking it lying down. To be fair to An Cathaoirleach, he says that all he had done was run the meeting "in accordance with standing orders". At least one member thought that standing orders provided for an opening prayer but Cllr Holmes has said there is nothing in standing orders to that effect. "I'm trying to run the meetings in a very businesslike and efficient manner," he said. This issue has raised its head in another forum and, of course, it is bound to create controversy. When Cllr Luke 'Ming' Flanagan was elected Mayor of Roscommon County Council, he refused to recite the traditional prayer before the council meeting got underway, a move that enraged some councillors who accused him of being "disrespectful". Ming himself argued that, as an agnostic, he would be a hypocrite if he did say the prayer. His counterpart in Mayo County Council, Michael Burke, said that he would vow to continue with an opening prayer at his meetings. "It's a tradition that should be kept. It's been there a long time and I have no problem with it," he said. Robin Parker, a confirmed Anglican who once trained for the Methodist ministry, claimed he would ditch the opening prayer when he became Mayor of Rochdale in England. He had an unusual take on all this, stating that council meetings, with their vitriolic point-scoring and scripted contributions, were no place for God. "In my view, it is totally out of order to ask the blessing of a deity on something which has been so predetermined. Political groups will have met beforehand and determined their positions. It seems rather like saying prayers and giving thanks before going off to war. It does not seem right to me." Wanganui District Council in New Zealand might be a world away from Navan but it's had its own problem with 'the prayer'. The council had been at loggerheads on the issue since the mayor, Annette Main, suggested that references to God should be removed from the prayer used to open each meeting, as a way of respecting all faiths. The informal remark sparked a furore about whether praying was an appropriate item of business on the council agenda. But before the council could formally vote on the issue, it became the subject of a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, which stepped in to mediate, freezing any public discussion on the issue. Cllr Jimmy Fegan raised the issue of the absence of an opening prayer this week. He said he was in favour of keeping it in and thought the majority of people in Meath who were Christian would support his view. The issue is now going to the council's protocol committee to decide what should be done next. Meanwhile, Meath County Council has confirmed that there is no provision for a prayer in the council's standing orders. Is this not all a bit overboard of the side of political correctness? You can have whatever belief you like, or none, but shouldn't there be room for a harmless and long-established tradition? The cathaoirleach may well have to find a reverse gear on this one. As for the press, they have their own prayer: "Please Lord, let this meeting come to a close to ease the pain in my aching hand!"